Triglyceride fat

ABSTRACT

A fat suited as fat phase for the manufacture of low fat spreads which are stable at elevated ambient temperatures which fat comprises a mixture of triglycerides, in which—2.5 to 5.5 wt. % of the triglycerides are HHH triglycerides,—25 to 65 wt. %, preferably 25 to 55 wt. % of the HHH triglycerides are monoacid triglycerides and the remaining HHH triglycerides are composed of mixed fatty acid residues,—1.5 to 5 wt. % of the triglycerides are HHM and HMH triglycerides,—at least 85 wt. % of the fatty acid residues H in HHM and HMH are palmitic acid residues, where H denotes saturated fatty acid residues having chain lengths larger than 15 carbon atoms and M denotes saturated fatty acid residues having chain lengths of either 12 or 14 carbon atoms and where the M-residue is placed either in the middle or in one of the terminal positions. Such fat phase can be obtained by incorporating in a triglyceride oil a fat A and a fat B where the fat A and the fat B together amount to 6-15 wt. % of the fat and the A/B weigh ratio is in the range 1/9 to 4/6, characterized in that of fat A—at least 50 wt. % of the triglycerides are fully saturated—at least 80 wt. % of the constituting saturated fatty acid residues have a chain length of 16 carbon atoms (P) or 18 carbon atoms (S), the ratio P:S being in the range 75:25-25:75,—up to 5 wt. % of the saturated fatty acid residues have a chain length of 12 or 14 carbon atoms and in that of fat B—at least 20 wt. %, preferably at least 25 wt. % of the triglycerides consist of HHM and HMH triglycerides.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention deals with a solid triglyceride fat which issuited to be used as hardstock fat for the preparation of emulsionspreads and with a process for the preparation of such fat.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The Related Art

Margarine is an edible emulsion spread consisting of a continuous fatphase and an aqueous phase which is dispersed as fine droplets in thefat phase. The fat phase of margarine and of similar fat continuousemulsion spreads is a mixture of a fat which is fully liquid (the oilpart of the fat phase) and a fat which is solid at ambient temperature.For imparting to common margarine a semi-solid, plastic, spreadableconsistency this stabilizing and structuring hardstock functionalityplays an important role. The crystals of the solid fat denoted ashardstock fat, form a network throughout the liquid oil resulting into astructured fat phase. It also helps to stabilize the emulsion. Becausethe aqueous phase droplets are fixed within the spaces of the lattice ofsolid fat crystals, coalescence of the droplets and separation of theheavier aqueous phase from the fat phase is prevented.

The technology of spread processing is well established. The type of fatand the ratio of liquid oil and solid fat are chosen such that afterproper processing of the fat blend with an aqueous phase a plasticproduct with a suitable consistency and mouthfeel is obtained.

Unprocessed liquid vegetable oils are the major ingredient in thecomposition of margarine fats. Vegetable fats are preferred over animalfats because their high content of unsaturated fatty acid residuesenhances the spread's nutritional value. Besides that, vegetable fatsare an abundant and relatively cheap resource.

According to the state of the art, the proper functionality of hardstockfats is obtained by subjecting a vegetable fat to a more or less complexprocess comprising treatments such as blending, fractionation,hydrogenation and interesterification.

Admixing a hardstock fat to a liquid oil aims at obtaining such fatphase that after emulsifying with an aqueous phase and proper coolingand working, a semi-solid, plastic W/O-emulsion results which is easilyspreadable, stable at ambient temperatures and which when swallowedgives a pleasant sensory sensation (mouthfeel). The mouthfeel is theoverall perception of quick fat melting and the taste of the aqeouosphase which is released during mastication.

It is known that the presence of HMH and HHM triglycerides contributesto a good mouthfeel. H and M denote the fatty acid residues attached tothe glyceride backbone, where H means a saturated fatty acid residuehaving a chain length larger than 15 carbon atoms and M means asaturated fatty acid residue having a chain length of either 12 or 14carbon atoms placed either in the middle or one of the terminalpositions.

Generally, hardstock fats fail to conserve a proper spread consistencywhen ambient temperatures rise above average. Relying on a highermelting hardstock fat is at variance with the desire of a good oralmelt. A waxy mouthfeel is the consequence which is ascribed to thepresence of the high melting HHH triglycerides.

The present invention addresses the desire to combine a good oral meltwith good consistency even at high ambient temperatures. Particularly atlow fat levels such combination could not have been realised.

A good heat stability is shown by the spreads described in EP 0470658.The fat phase contains 6 wt. % of a single fat, fully hydrogenated palmoil or fish oil as hardstock fat. Nearly 6 wt. % of the fat phasenecessarily consists of HHH triglycerides. Consequently the resultingspreads show good heat stability but a waxy mouthfeel.

To the contrary a good mouthfeel is reported for the spreads obtainedwith the fat phase as described in e.g. EP 0089082 which discloses fatswith a high content of HMH and HHM triglycerides. Spreads containingsuch fats are known to be not stable at high ambient temperatures.

The stability problem becomes particularly serious when the fat contentof a W/O-spread drops below 55 wt. % and particularly below 40 wt. %.Ordinary hardstock fats increasingly fail to provide heat stabilitywithout sacrificing acceptable mouthfeel.

The challenge to comply with the requirements of both good heatstability and quick mouth melting has triggered investigations whichhave resulted in the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

We have found a fat as defined in claim 1 which fat possesses uniqueproperties for use as fat phase in the manufacture of low fat spreads.

The fat can be easily prepared by merely admixing to a triglyceride oiltwo fats A and B each with a specific triglyceride composition in aratio chosen from a specific range as specified in claim 2.

Emulsion spreads in which the fat is employed as fat phase surprisinglycombine heat stability with good mouthfeel.

DETAILS OF THE INVENTION

The present fat is characterized by the presence of two types oftriglycerides denoted as HHH and H2M (HHM and HMH) which fat shows thefound beneficial properties provided the conditions as specified inclaim 1 are fulfilled.

Such fats preferably are prepared by the process as specified in claim2. The process merely consists of blending a triglyceride oil with a fatA and a fat B such that the A/B weight ratio is in the range 1/9 to 4/6.

Fat A must consist for at least 50 wt. % of fully saturatedtriglycerides and moreover the fatty acid residues constituting thosetriglycerides must for at least 80 wt. % consist of palmitic acid andstearic acid residues, while the content of lauric acid and myristicacid residues should not exceed 5 wt. %.

Fat B must consist for at least 20 wt. %, preferably at least 25 wt. %of H2M triglycerides.

Fats A and B are not necessarily novel. They may be chosen from priorart fats which comply with the claimed composition.

Presently, for processing of edible fats hydrogenation preferably isavoided. The naturalness trend dictates any interesterification step tobe carried out preferably enzymatically, while fractionation preferablyis dry fractionation without use of solvents.

Fat A suitably is fully hydrogenated palm oil. Preferably fat A isprepared without use of hydrogenation. A more natural process relies oninteresterification and fractionation. A fat is selected which has ahigh content of stearic acid (>20 wt. %) and a fat with a high contentof palmitic acid (>20 wt. %). Fats with a high content of stearic acid(S) comprise shea fat, Allanblackia fat and the developed high stearicvariants of soybean oil, rapeseed oil and sunflower oil. Fats with ahigh content of palmitic acid (P) comprise palm oil and cottonseed oil.A high stearic fat and a high palmitic fat are blended in such ratiothat the blend complies with the P/S ratio of claim 2. The blend issubjected to interesterification and then to fractionation. The skilledman knows to choose fractionation conditions so that the collectedstearin complies with the specifications of claim 2.

Alternatively the high S fat and/or the high P fat to be used for thepreparation of fat A are first fractionated to increase the respectivecontents of S and P further. The high S fat and the high P fat areblended and interesterified and, optionally, thereafter fractionated sothat the composition of the collected stearic fraction complies with thespecifications of claim 2.

Either route delivers a fat according to claim 1 possessing a hardstockfunctionality which is similar to that of fully hydrogenated palm oil.

Examples of suitable non-hydrogenated fats B are found among the wellknown interesterified mixtures of palm oil with either palm kernel oilor coconut oil. Optionally fractions of those oils can be used.Preferably the interesterified mixture of palm oil stearin and palmkernel oil (62/38) is used.

Particularly at ambient temperatures exceeding 25° C. the combinedpresence of fats A and B in a fat phase shows—in contrast to traditionalhardstock fats—an ability to ensure heat stability of a spreadcontaining said fat phase. That ability becomes even more pronouncedwhen the fat content of the spread drops below 50 wt. % or even below 40wt. %. This functionality is obtained with a relatively low contributionof saturated fatty acids by the hardstock fat not exceeding 14 wt. % ontotal fat blend. So the total saturated fatty acids content of thespread's fat phase can be kept below 25 wt. % and in special cases evenbelow 20 wt. %.

Without wishing to be bound by theory we believe that the beneficialcombination of heat stability and good oral perception is based on thespecial structure of fine crystals which crystal structure is induced bythe combined presence of specific HHH triglycerides and specific H2Mtriglycerides. While the HHH triglycerides should have a composition ofhighly mixed fatty acids, the H2M triglycerides contain H-residues whichare much less mixed. The fatty acid residues (H) of the H2Mtriglycerides consist predominantly—more than 65 wt %, prefentially morethan 75 wt %—of palmitic acid.

These two groups of specific triglycerides, HHH and H2M, essentiallyhave to be obtained by blending separate fats A and B, each of which isneeded for its contribution to the unique H-residues composition of thefinal fat.

The described fat phase can be used for the manufacture of fatcontinuous emulsion spreads which form part of the invention.

A spread manufacturing process comprises the steps

-   -   emulsifying 50-80 wt. % of an aqueous phase with 20-50 wt. % of        a fat phase and    -   cooling and working the emulsion to obtain a spreadable        emulsion,        characterized in that a fat phase is used according to the        present invention as described in claim 1.

The liquid oil part of the fat phase can be any commodity oil generallyused for spread manufacture such as rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, soybeanoil and mixtures of such oils.

The fat phase contains 6-15 wt. % of the added amounts of fats A and B.For nutritional reasons (low saturated fatty acids content) and for costreasons preferably the lower amounts of the range are chosen.

Although the spreads of the invention are said to be prepared with avegetable fat phase, the invention also comprises spreads where a partof the fat phase has been substituted by dairy fat.

The aqueous phase may have any composition which is common for spreadmanufacture and which comprises the usual spread ingredients such aswater, one or more emulsifiers, gelling and/or thickening agents, salt,colouring agent, flavour, a preservation agent and dairy proteins.

The aqueous phase may also contain a dispersed fat phase so thateventually an O/W/O-emulsion would result which is a subspecies of thespreads according to the present invention.

For the preparation of the spread use is made of common spreadmanufacturing technology:

Suitably the aqueous phase and the fat phase are prepared by mixing therespective ingredients. Then both phases are emulsified. The crudepre-emulsion is subjected to the usual cooling and working treatmentsemploying scraped surface heat exchangers and pin stirrers so thateventually a plastic spread product is obtained.

Such process employs established technology well known to the manskilled in the art. Details can be found in various textbooks such as K.A. Alexandersen, Margarine Processing Plants and Equipment (Vol. 4,Bailey's Industrial Oil and Fat Products, Wiley and Sons Inc., New York1996).

Preferably the invented spread is prepared with only naturalingredients.

Preferably the content of saturated fatty acids in the spread of theinvention is less than 25 wt. %, preferably less than 20 wt. % on totalfat phase.

The following examples illustrate the invention.

EXAMPLE 1

Three 40% fat W/O-spreads A, B and C have been prepared starting from apre-mix of which the fat phases had the composition according to TableI.

B and C have been prepared for comparison and are outside the claim.Ingredients of the pre-mix of spreads A, B and C: Pre-mix wt. % Fatphase 40 Bolec ZT 0.32 Hymono 8903 0.3 Flavour trace B-carotene 0.048Water 58.6 K-sorbate 0.073 Whey protein 0.55 Salt 0.1 Citric acid 0.05End pH 4.6

TABLE I Spread A B (comparison) C (comparison) Fat phase components (wt.%) Liquid oil 89% rapeseed 89% rapeseed 87% rapeseed oil oil oilStructuring fat 2% PO58 (2) 4% POs (4) 9% fat B (1) 9% fat B (1) 11% in(fhPK/fhPO) (3) Fat phase composition (wt. %) Saturated 15.8 17.0 16.4fatty acids Total HHH 3.66 2.0 3.3 PPP 1.72 0.17 2.66 SSS 0.27 0.36Traces Monoacid TG 54% of HHH 27% of HHH 80% of HHH* PSP 0.72 0.21 0.19PPS 0.34 0.43 0.45 PSS 0.58 0.55 Traces SPS 0.04 0.28 Traces H2M HHM1.67 2.53 1.6 HMH 0.83 1.27 0.8 H in H2M P 93.4 40.8* 93.4 S 6.3 58.96.3 A 0.3 0.3 0.3*Outside claim specification(1) Fat B is a chemically interesterified blend of 38 wt. parts of palmkernel fat and 62 wt. parts of dry fractionated palm oil stearin (slipm.p. 56° C.).(2) PO58: fully hydrogenated palm oil (slip m.p. 58° C.)(3) A common chemically interesterified blend of 57 wt. parts of fullyhydrogenated palm kernel fat and 43 wt. parts of fully hydrogenated palmoil (slip m.p. 58° C.).(4) Dry fractionated palm oil stearin (slip m.p. 56° C.).

The ingredients mixture was stored at 60° C. prior to processing. Afteraddition of the monoglyceride, salt and flavour, the premix wasprocessed at a throughput of 80 kg/hour through a traditional A-A-A-Csequence of scraped surface heat exchangers (A-units) and a crystallizer(pin stirrer or C-unit). The speed of the A-units was set to 900 rpm,the speed of the C-unit (1.5 l volume) was 1200 rpm. The exittemperature of the last A-unit was approximately 7° C. and the exittemperature of the C-unit was approximately 13° C. The processed spreadwas filled into 250 g plastic tubs and stored at 15° C. for one week.

For each of the spreads A, B and C a part of the tubs was exposed to 20°C. and another part to 25° C. After one day storage at 25° C. an expertpanel (n=6) assessed the spreads A, B and C, prepared with fat phases A,B and C respectively, on heat stability. After subsequent storage forone day at 10° C. these were assessed further on spreadability andmouthfeel.

When judging mouthfeel a combination of melting sensation, flavourperception and salt release was rated. The assessment also included thepersistance of a waxy mouthfeel that remains after swallowing thespread.

For spreadability rating it is assessed how smoothly the margarine isspread on a standard surface (waxed paper) and whether the resultinglayer has an appealing appearance. Table II shows the assessment ratingson a 1-5 scale (5 being the best). TABLE II Quality assessment Spread AB (comparison) C (comparison) Mouthfeel 4 4.5 3 Spreadability 4.5 3.52.5 Heat stability No phase Slight oil Serious oil separation separationat separation at 25° C. 25° C.

The stability of the spreads against structure desintegration as aconsequence of temperature stress was evaluated through exposure of thesample to 20° C. and 25° C. for 24 hours. See Table II.

Spread A withstood the high ambient temperature without any sign ofloosing water or layering of oil. Spread B showed an thin layer of oilat 25° C. Comparison spread C, however, showed an unacceptable layer ofoil at 25° C.

The assessment of the three spreads clearly showed that a 40% fat spreadprepared according to the invention when assessed on temperaturestability, oral perception and (low) saturated fat content scored betterin comparison with the prior art spreads.

EXAMPLE 2

Two spreads D and E were prepared with the composition and according tothe procedure of example 1 with the differences that the aqueous phaseof the product was stabilized by 1 wt. % (on spread) of gelatine andonly 38 wt. % of fat phase was used.

The spreads contained the fat phases D and E resp. as specified in TableIII. Spread E, being outside the claim, was prepared for comparison.

Both spreads D and E were found to be stable against phase separationwhen exposed to the elevated temperatures as described in example 1.However, in terms of mouthfeel, spread D significantly outperformedspread E. The latter spread not only suffered from a waxy mouthfeelafter consumption, it lacked any oral melting sensation. Also theflavour release was not acceptable in comparison with spread TABLE IIISpread D E (comparison) Liquid oil 87% Rapeseed oil 92% Rapeseed oilStructuring fat 8% PO58 (1) 4% stearin fat (2) 9% fat B (3) Fat phasecomposition in wt. % Saturated fatty 16.6 14.3 acids Total HHH 3.9 7.64PPP 1.7 0.58 SSS 0.21 1.09 Monoacid TG 49% 22%* PSP 0.45 2.88 PPS 0.740.58 PSS 0.54 2.34 SPS 0.25 0.15 H2M HHM 1.53 0.30* HMH 0.76 0.14* H inH2M P 93.4 44.9 S 6.3 55.0 A 0.3 0.1 Spread quality assessment Heatstability 25° C. Good Good Oral melt Fine Absent Waxy mouthfeel AbsentPersistent Flavour release Good Not satisfactory*Outside claim specification(1) PO58: fully hydrogenated palm oil(2) The stearin fat is prepared by (chemical) interesterification of 50wt. parts of palm oil with 50 wt. parts of sheanut butter. The productis subsequently fractionated at such temperature that the stearinfraction contains only HHH triglycerides.(3) Fat B is a chemically interesterified blend of 38 wt. parts of palmkernel fat and 62 wt. parts of dry fractionated palm oil stearin (slipm.p. 56° C.).

1. A fat comprising a mixture of triglycerides, characterised in that2.5 to 5.5 wt. % of the triglycerides are HHH triglycerides, 25 to 65wt. %, preferably 25 to 55 wt. % of the HHH triglycerides are monoacidtriglycerides and the remaining HHH triglycerides are composed of mixedfatty acid residues, 1.5 to 5 wt. % of the triglycerides are HHM and HMHtriglycerides, at least 85 wt. % of the fatty acid residues H in HHM andHMH are palmitic acid residues, where H denotes saturated fatty acidresidues having chain lengths larger than 15 carbon atoms and M denotessaturated fatty acid residues having chain lengths of either 12 or 14carbon atoms and where the M-residue is placed either in the middle orin one of the terminal positions.
 2. A process suited for thepreparation of the triglyceride fat according to claim 1, comprisingincorporating in a triglyceride oil a fat A and a fat B where the fat Aand the fat B together amount to 6-15 wt. % of the fat and the A/Bweight ratio is in the range 1/9 to 4/6, characterized in that of fat Aat least 50 wt. % of the triglycerides are fully saturated at least 80wt. % of the constituting saturated fatty acid residues have a chainlength of 16 carbon atoms (P) or 18 carbon atoms (S), the ratio P:Sbeing in the range 75:25-25:75, up to 5 wt. % of the saturated fattyacid residues have a chain length of 12 or 14 carbon atoms and in thatof fat B at least 20 wt. %, preferably at least 25 wt. % of thetriglycerides consist of HHM and HMH triglycerides in which H and M areas defined in claim
 1. 3. Process according to claim 2, characterized inthat fat A is obtained by
 1. Selecting a fat which contains >20 wt. % ofstearic acid and a fat which contains >20 wt. % of palmitic acid, 2.Blending both fats in such ratio that the blend complies with the P/Sratio of claim 2,
 3. Subjecting the blend to interesterification, 4.Subjecting the interesterified fat to fractionation under suchconditions that the composition of the collected stearin complies withthe fat A specifications of claim
 2. 4. Process according to claim 2,characterized in that fat A is obtained by
 1. Selecting a fat whichcontains >20 wt. % of stearic acid and a fat which contains >20 wt. % ofpalmitic acid,
 2. Fractionating the high stearin fat and/or the highpalmitic fat,
 3. Blending the high stearin fat and the high palmitic fatat least one of these being a fractionated fat,
 4. Interesterifying theblend,
 5. Optionally, fractionating the interesterified fat, theconditions for blending and for the fractionation of step 2 and step 4being chosen such that the composition of the stearin collected afterstep 4 complies with the fat A specifications of claim
 2. 5. Processaccording to claim 2, where in fat B the wt. ratio of oleic acid andlinoleic acid residues is more than
 3. 6. Process according to claim 1,where either fat A or fat B or both are non-hydrogenated fats. 7.Process according to claim 1, where either fat A or fat B or both areenzymatically interesterified fats.
 8. Process according to claim 1,where either fat A or fat B or both have been obtained without the useof wet fractionation
 9. Process for the preparation of an edible W/Oemulsion spread comprising the steps emulsifying 50-80 wt. % of anaqueous phase with 20-50 wt. % of a fat phase and cooling and workingthe emulsion to obtain a spreadable emulsion, characterized in that afat phase is used as specified in claim
 1. 10. Process according toclaim 1, characterized in that the emulsion is prepared with 60-80 wt. %of an aqueous phase and 2040 wt. % of a fat phase, preferably with 60-70wt. % of an aqueous phase and 3040 wt. % of a fat phase.
 11. Spreadobtained according to claim 1, characterized in that the content ofsaturated fatty acid residues on total fat phase is less than 25 wt. %,preferably less than 20 wt. %.